The Hungary State Opera's production of Billy Elliot faces an uncertain future after being labelled "gay propaganda" by columnist Zsofia N Horvath - an entirely unknown journalist, according to reports from the BBC.
Horvath, who allegedly wrote the opinion piece for Magyar Idok, the ruling party Fidesz's daily mouthpiece, expressed her concern that children who viewed the musical production were at risk of being turned gay.
The head of the Hungarian State Opera, Szilveszter Okovacs, last week said that while 15 of the 44 planned performances of Billy Elliot had been cancelled, it was "not because of the media controversy, but because of a fall in ticket sales in the wake of the controversy."
"If parents hear from one side that Billy Elliot is gay propaganda, while from the other that this is terribly homophobic, they may conclude that our production is at least problematic, while in fact it is not," Okovacs told the BBC.
"Everyone is making a mountain out of a molehill."
He continued: "More than 100,000 people have already seen Billy Elliott in Hungary, which means that it has been a success."
The outrage is particularly strange considering the Hungarian State Opera's production of Billy Elliot is now in its third season, entertaining Hungarian audiences without controversy since 2016.
